Just another day

Just another day in the Rasmussen household and on a typical day like today, you will find my husband hidden away in his wee cupboard... The expression on his face is one of sheer love, his eyes shine with joy. What is it he gets up to in that wee cupbaord.?Well I got my camera out and decided to investigate - you can see the results below.....

Well the weather in Denmark has turned hot - really hot!! (I absolutely hate it so hot) Our living room this evening was 27 degrees....there was no breeze. Having the windows and doors open did not help.

It was also terrible having to work in this heat - I knew it would be warm so I was in work at 6am so I could leave earlier - its also cooler at 6am. (Tomorrow is to be just as warm so I am contemplating going in for 5am - but lets see, bed is always soooo good at that time of the morning!)

After work I hurried home and collected Leah and her cousin Annie - we headed off to the swimming pool. Normally it takes me ages to get into the pool. (The water over here is a few degrees lower than at home and normally I can feel the difference, its just a bit too cold for my liking.) Today however I was in in no time - it was WONDERFUL!! We spent an hour swimmng around and having fun. It really was the best way to cool off today.

Now all that is left for me to say is..."Roll on the autumn!"

Weekend of friends

It has been a weekend spent with friends.

Saturday evening Anne and I headed out. We went to a local restaurant and stuffed our faces - all you can eat for £10!! and believe me we ate!! We then walked around our town and found a wee cafe and had some coffe and hot chocolate. We had a lovely evening chatting and catching up, as well as having the usual bit of fun and laughter. It was then home to relax and chat some more.

Sara is forever having friends over to stay. Most of them are from the go-kart world. Many of them are elit drivers who one day might be famous Formula 1 drivers. Last night she was at a friends 18th birthday party and had arranged that some of the fellas who lived at the other side of Denmark, could spend the night at our house instead of driving home late in the evening. So we had a full house this morning.

The two boys who stayed here are also elit go-kart drivers, so I decided to get my photo taken with them so that if they become as famous as Lewis Hamilton I can say that they stayed at my house and I made them breakfast! haha They were really nice lads!

It was also great to see our other "daughter" Winnie. Its been a while since she has been in these parts, so it was good to spend a bit of time with her too, even though it was short. Yes it has been a good weekend!

Now our cousin Annie is here. She is the same age as Leah and they are having a few days holiday together.

Last day at school

It was Leahs last day at school. For the kids at my school, it was their last day too.

I got a few hours off work this morning to be able to go to a breakfast in Leahs school. All the parents met at 8am and ate breakfast together. Its a nice tradition that we have had since the kids started school. The last couple of years it has been Kristian who went with her (since I start work at 7am) but this year he was on a course so I went along.

Then it was off to work. I was really looking forward to today. The last day at school is always a really different day. The kids are all happy and excited.

I arrived just in time to go along to the assembly hall and see the different classes preform. There was stump music from one of the classes - it was really good, they used chairs, books, plastic bags, drum sticks and broom sticks - it sounded really good. Some of the younger children sang and they were just sooo cute. Then it was time for all to sing the holiday song to end the year. The kids love it, they dance and sing and it is such a funny song with a great happy melody.

They was time for a quick break before the next big event......

I had a good time out on the pitch but I was soooo scared everytime the ball came my way - I wanted to run away from it!! haha (also everytime I stood near another teacher I wanted to have a conversation - I really had to bite my tongue - I dont think they would have appreciated my friendliness right at that time!haha)

The day was over, and when all the kids went home the staff were all treated to a wonderful lunch. It really was a great day.

Then this evening we went down to visit my mother-in-law. We are borrowing Kristians sisters car for our holidays (theirs has air condition - ours doesnt!). They have two cars and are already away on holiday in the other car. For one week, we will have 2 cars!! WONDERFUL!!

Then next Friday we will leave our car down at their house so his sister has something to drive around in when they come home. its only one week until we go to France - we can hardly wait!

P.S. I really didnt win any trophy for the best player - I really was hopeless!!!

Andrew graduated

Today Andrew graduated after 10 years at the local school. It doesnt seem that long ago that I took him along for his first day at school. (That first day was harder on me than on him!!) Where have all those years gone?

We had to be at his school for 6.30pm. The evening started with us all singing a Danish folk song (which had a terrible melody and about 100 verses!! haha) The head mistress gave a talk to the kids (I must remember to tell Andrew not to listen to some of her advice! Why? cause some of it went against the Christian values we have - anyway, thats another subject) We were then served food but everytime the serving dish came to our part of the table it had run out of food!! haha

We had a nice evening though - we were sitting together with Andrews English teacher who happens to go to our church. She is just sooo nice and easy to talk to. Then it was graduation time. The kids were called up and given their diploma. The teachers then put on a show for us all, which was funny. The evening ended with another Danish folk song (the melody in this one was not so bad - and it only had 50 verses haha)

So two kids down - only one to go!!

After summer Andrew will take 10th grade at another school. He doesnt know what he wants to do yet, so the year in 10th grade will give him time to think and plan. It will also allow him a chance to improve on some of his grades!!

It was such a beautiful evening here, so on the way home Kristian took some stupid video clips...

The Golden Wedding Anniversary

Saturday 20th June was a special day for Krisitans mum and dad - it was their golden wedding annivesary. Fifty years together - what an achievement!!

So it being a special day lots of special things were planned.

In Denmark they have a tradition that friends and family gather together and start the day by singing wedding hymns outside the happy couples door or window, and thats exactly what we did.

Kristian, his 2 brothers, his sister and his niece supplied the music. (Click on the video below and see for yourself)





Friends and family were then invited to a cup of coffee, tea and some breakfast. Kristians mum and dad had "open" house all day so people could come and go throughout the day. Food was supplied throughout the day. There were soooo many people and us girls in the family were kept busy serving food and making sure everyone had enough tea and coffee.

Kristians sister Signe had arranged different musical inputs that came at different times throughout the day. The grandchildren sang together, Leah sang a solo, the boys sang a song to their parents. It was just such a special day.

(Below leah sings a solo)




(below all the grandchildren sing)


At 5pm we had hired an old car to come and take them out on a 1½ hour drive. It was the same as the first car that they owned. They both were so surprised to see the car. While they were out and about we got everything ready for an afterparty for just the family. It was a long day but a really enjoyable one!! I must say I have a wonderful Danish family!!

Here is the plan....

....On Saturday night Julie, Charlene and I were chatting and we talked about what we could do together when I was home. Well we came up with this idea.....remember the wee cinema place we went to some Saturday nights with the youth club, well we thought of hiring it for the evening and showing Mamma Mia. Idea is we all get dressed up 70 style and have a Mamma Mia sing-a-long night. The plan was we would go out on the Saturday evening.. but to cut a long story short, we can only do the Mamma Mia thing if it is on Thursday 23rd July or Monday 27th July..(only time the cinema is available)

So girls we need feed back. What night suits best??? Are you at all interested it doing this and Julie how much is it costings? How many can the cinema hold? So leave a comment with what you think girls - Julie needs to know ASAP!!!

As for me I am sick - lying in bed with a sore throat, head and runny nose - also got a bit of a fever...but better getting sick now than when I have to go to Ireland:-) Talk soon folks

If the mountain wont come to you.....

...then you go to the mountain!! Thats the old saying and I decided to take its advice and go to my mounatin!!


Dad has been wanting to come over and visit for the last while, but has been nervous about travelling. So I decided that if he was not coming to us this summer then I would go and visit him. - if I could get a cheap flight! Well guess what? I got a cheap flight!!



Leah and I will be in Ireland for 1 week to have a wee holiday with dad. We fly from Copenhagen to London Stansted. To get the cheapest flight we have to sleep in the airport, but hey we are young (sort off) so we should be able to manage it. (Please dont remind me about how awful it was last year when we had to sleep at Dublin airport!) We then fly into Belfast City on 22nd July. We arrive back in Denmark 29th July. Meanwhile Kristian, Sara and Andrew will be at home. (Poor them:-)


So girls if anyone is free, what about a night out on Saturday 25th July??? I know its maybe bad timing, right in the middle of holidays, but if we could it would be so good to continue the tradition of meeting up for the evening!! Anyone available???

Happy Birthday Lorraine

This wee young thing in the picture above turned 40 today! Happy Birthday Lorraine. I hope you and Brian had a good evening out to dinner.

Now what can I tell you about Lorraine. Well I got to know Lorraine when I was about 1 month old. (I am 1 month and 5 days older than her!) We grew up together and have shared many a funny moment.

I have many precious memories from our childhood and teenage years together - like the time she couldnt get her wee mini parked properly at the city hospital. She just could not get that mini parked straight in the parking box. So after she backed in and out at least 100 times, I came up with this great idea that we both should just get out and lift the back end of the mini into place - and thats what we did. We both got out, went to the backend of the car and tried to lift that mini into place. We, unfortunately didnt succeed. That car was pretty heavy for being a mini! (What we must have looked like struggling to lift the back of a mini!! )Do you remember that night?

Or there was the night we went to visit Darin. Anne (his mum) told us we could hide in his room so we could jump out on him when he came home from work. So when we heard Darins car pull into the drive, we scrambled up the stairs and into Darins room. Now it was pitch black. Lorraine took a jump and threw herself on the bed - there was only one slight problem, Darin had changed his room around and the bed was not were it was supposed to be. Lorraine landed with such a thud in the middle of the floor. When we turned on the lights there was Lorraine lying on the floor, not knowing what had hit her. Now I was sure I was going to wet myself that night, we laughed so much.

There was the night I rolled the bathroom sliding door over her big toe - Awhhhhh - Sorry about that!! Or the trips to Caipers for pizza....the trips to Londonderry in her mini....the Halloween parties at her house when we were kids....my 21st birthday were she drove me to Dublin for a McDonalds....the night we took a trip to a graveyard, (we had a thing about going to a graveyard late at night!) and the list could go on!!

Lorraine thanks for all the good memories. I am soooo glad to have had you in my life (and I know I am not the only one who feels this way.) We all have wonderful memories of you. Just know you are a very special person.

P.S. Is anyone available tomorrow evening -

Saturday 13th June for a chat? If you are availabe check in at 8pm english time and lets catch up with each other since only rhoda made it last Saturday!

It looks good on you....

Out window shopping the other day I decided, for fun, to try on some clothes. I decided to try clothes that I normally wouldnt go for but I soon discovered that the clothes I had picked just didnt look good on me. They were the wrong colour, pattern or shape - a few even made me look pregnant!! I looked awful in them.

This made me think about a song I have been listening to all week. It is sung by a man named Don Moen. It is taken out of Psalm 33 v 1 which says "Praise is becoming to the upright" in other words - Praise looks good on you.

Well I dont know if you´re like me, but since I turned 40 I havent been doing a lot of praising!! I would say I have been doing more complaining! (and I was blaming it on the hormones!!) But as a Christian complaining doesnt look good on me!! It´s like putting on those clothes that were the wrong shape, pattern and colour. It does nothing for me!

So many Christians are "wearing" things that just dont suit them - things like complaining, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, and the list could go on. God says these things dont suit us - but the one thing that suits us we seldom wear and thats praise.

So over the last few days I have been challenged by this. Whenever I felt like complaining Psalm 33 v 1 came to mind and I thougth "Laura that complaining doesnt look good on you - Praise suits you better!" and I changed my complaining to thankfulness and praise instead. (well, maybe not every single time - God is still working on me!)

Have a listen to the song for yourself - I just love the melody!

Horses and Senior moments

So today I had a senior moment. I totally forgot that it was the first Saturday in the month - our chat night! Sorry girls. However I would not have been able to make it. I was out this evening with Leah and my friend Jette.

Jette had got free tickets for a horse show so we decided to make a girls night out of it. For 7 years Jette has been going to this horse show but has NEVER been able to get seats. She always had to stand somewhere she couldnt see so well. We were determined that tonight would be different, and it was! We got our seats!

The horse show started at 7.30pm but we were there for 6.15pm with our picnic basket and all our goodies. We got fantastic seats, just not much room for us to eat the wonderful picnic I had packed of potatoe salad and meat balls and salad. We ended up just eating everything out of the one bowl...we all just dug in! haha

Jette was so over the moon to finally get seats!! Every 5 minutes she commented on it. In the end I just had to make a video. So if you want to meet my crazy, wonderful friend Jette click on the video link below!

Before long the horse show started. Even though we were sitting waiting for just over an hour, the time went quickly.

What a brilliant show it was. We really enjoyed ourselves. If you want to have a look for yourself, just click on the videos below....

By the time the show was finished we were frozen. It had been a clear lovely evening, but it was cold. So even with our heavy jumpers and blankets we felt the cold. We couldnt wait to get into the car and get warmed up.

The drive home was wonderful. A warm car and a beautiful red sky. We drove the scenic route home instead of the motorway. We passed by beautiful fields filled with poppies and the most beautiful fjord.

Off course Leah, Jette and I were dreaming and pretending that we were going home to our farm with its thatched roof. We would have our own horses, dogs and cats waiting on us there. We would also have made one part of the farm into a bed and breakfast and art gallery, gift shop and coffee house etc, etc. Ah well it is fun to dream!! haha (Good job our husbands weren´t there!! )

It finally arrived....

The day I have been waiting on for the last 3 months finally arrived. Today was the day that I got my new dishwasher. After months of saving I finally had enough money to buy a dishwasher. I ordered it on Tuesday and today Kristian was able to collect it on the way home from work.



This was the sight that greeted me when I came home from work. I could hardly wait to get it hooked up and going. The amount of dishes I have washed in the last few months has been ridiculus!!! But no more washing up for me for the next 10-12 years!! (hopefully it will last that long!)




Kristian was getting a bit annoyed and frustrated as he tried to work out how to attach all the bits and pieces of pipes and hoses. It was different from our old machine....so he had to use his brains - NOT good on a late Thursday afternoon! haha

It finally all came together. The first set of dishes have now been washed. Appartently its easy to use and very quiet compared to our old machine. However I dont know about any of that - I havent been home to see how it works or hear how it sounds. Tonight was my Ikea night with my firiend Audry. We had a great evening catching up. I didnt buy anything, just dandered around with my friend and was quiet happy to help her spend her money.